Defensive players to buy in the summer

Silas Funch
Player Profiles
Potential bargain players to buy in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Focusing on defenders.
CB:
Marlon:
Marlon Santos is a 24-year-old Brazilian centre back currently playing for Serie A side Sassoulo.
Marlon came through the academy of Fluminense, and quickly became a starter, making 20
appearances in 2014 in the Brazilian first division starting the season only aged 18. Despite his
young age, Marlon quickly showed his ability on the ball making 32 passes per game with an 84%
success rate. Numbers which are not world-class by any means, but still impressive for an 18-yearold
in his debut season. Marlon also showed his ability to read the game by making 2.2
interceptions per game and only getting dribbled past 0.4 times per game. In the 2015 season,
Marlon took another step up in quality by averaging 41 passes with an 89% success rate
throughout his 1951 minutes. His performances in the Brazilian top division made FC Barcelona
interested and the Catalan club ended up getting him on loan but after a disappointing season
with the Catalan giants which saw Marlon only getting 2 games, Barcelona his loan move
permanent before sending him on loan to Ligue 1 club Nice. In his one season with the French
club, Marlon made 23 appearances in which he showed why FC Barcelona bought him the year
before. In 1930 minutes, Marlon averaged 61 passes per game with a 95% success rate taking his
ball distribution numbers to a whole new level. His impressive season in France, made Italian Serie
A side Sassoulo buy him for a bargain price of 6 million euros. Since his switch to Italy, Marlon has
been immensely averaging 60 passes per game with a 94 % success rate and 3.2 successful long
balls per game across his now 2 seasons in Sassoulo. Marlon's time in Italy could have been even
better had it not been for injuries. Marlon missed 14 games due to injury in the 2018/19 campaign
but as of so far, Marlon has only missed 1 game in the ongoing season showing that his injuries
might just have more to do with bad luck than with him being injury prone. Because of the lack of
interest, Marlon may be available for a bargain price and should differently be a target by multiple
upper midtable clubs in Europe. English clubs who probably should target the 24-year-old could
include West Ham and Everton. For summary, Marlon is a very good ball-playing centre back who
is also a great reader of the game, with probably his only weakness being his height and his lack of
ability to win header because of it. If partnered alongside the right man, Marlon could be a very
good player for any team who likes to have the ball.
Malang Sarr:
Malang Sarr is a 20-year-old french centre back currently playing for Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.
Coming through the academy of Nice, Sarr made his Ligue 1 debut on 14 august 2016 aged only
17. In the game He scored the winning goal for his team in the 60th minute, heading home from a
1

Silas Funch
Jean-Michael freekick. In doing so, he became the second-youngest player to ever score on debut
in Ligue 1 and by the end of the season, Sarr had played over 2000 league minutes for a team that
finished 3 rd in Ligue 1. In that season Sarr averaged 2.1 interceptions per game but being dribbled
past nearly once per game Sarr was far too aggressive which made dribbling past the young centre
back far too easy despite his impressive turn of pace. So what made Sarr´s debut campaign so
successful was his ball distribution. Sarr averaged 62.5 passes per game with an 89.8% success rate
and also completed 3.8 longballs per match. Very impressive passing numbers for a 17-year-old in
one of Europes top 5 leagues. The next season Sarr improved a lot defensively while still
maintaining his distribution numbers. Sarr´s tackles and interceptions numbers dropped while he
now only got dribbled past 0.5 times showing that he was now much less aggressive and much
more mature. Being only 1.82 centimetres Sarr has always been decent in the air and whilst his
aerial ability is not his biggest strength, it does not make him a liability in the air. Last season Sarr
played 2995 minutes meaning by the end of last season Sarr had played around 6500 minutes in
Ligue 1 by the age of 20, so judging in terms of minutes Sarr is already quite experienced by the
age of 20. Sarr probably needs to tone down his aggressiveness a bit defensively, but his offensive
potential is almost unrivalled for a centre back of his age.
Nico Elvedi:
Nico Elvedi is a 23-year-old swiss centre back currently playing for Bundesliga side Borussia
Mönchen Gladbach. Elvedi joined his hometown club FC Zürich and raced trough their academy to
make his Swiss Super League debut at the age of 17 years old. His 16 appearances in the Swiss
Super League in the 2014/15 season, was enough to convince Borussia M. Gladbach to take a 4
million euro gamble on the then still unproven 20-year-old centre back. During his first season
with Gladbach, Elvedi made 21 appearances of which 17 were starts ending the season with 1548
minutes in the Bundesliga. During that time Elvedi impressed averaging 45 passes per game with
an 83% success rate, making 2.3 interceptions per game while only getting dribbled past 0.3 times
per game. Solid numbers for a centre back in his debut campaign in one of Europes top 5 leagues.
The season after, Elvedi´s number only improved, now making 25 appearances while averaging 55
passes per game with an improved success rate of 85%. Elvedi´s defensive numbers also improved
now making 2.9 interceptions per game, although he now got dribbled past more often with the
number rising to 0.7 times per game. In the 2016/17 season, Elvedi also made 6 starts in the
Champions League in which he maintained his Bundesliga numbers, showing that he was ready for
that level. In the 2017/18 season, the swiss international now made 33 Bundesliga starts for
Gladbach maintaining his numbers from the previous season while becoming one of Gladbach´s
first names on the team sheet. The 2018/19 season could be described as Elvedi´s breakout
season. In his 30 appearances in the Bundesliga, Elvedi averaged 69 passes per game with an
outstanding 93% success rate while still averaging a respectable 1.6 interceptions per game and
only being dribbled past 0.3 times per game. This season Elvedi´s numbers has impressively
maintained though he now makes fewer passes per game (50) but still with the same accuracy.
With a height of 1.89 meters, Elvedi has generally averaged around a 55% arieal win rate during
his career, making it probably his biggest weakness although it definitely could be a lot worse.
Like Marlon, Elvedi could be a very good player for most clubs challenging for Champions League
football, but would probably be best fitted to play for a team who likes to have the ball, while
partnered together with a centre back who is better than him in the air fx like Harry Maguire.
Because of Gladbach´s good for this season, they probably will not let him go in January and
2

Silas Funch
should they finish in the CL spots they would probably demand a lot more money for him, but
because players generally are not too expensive coming out of the Bundesliga it could still be a
great move for a club looking to qualify for Champions League football. A club like Arsenal would
be good for the 23-year-old centre back.
Fullbacks:
William:
William is a 24-year-old Brazilian right-back currently playing for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.
William came through the academy of Brazilian club Internacional before having his breakthrough
season in 2015 in the Brazilian Serie A, making 29 appearances. In 2575 league minutes in 2015,
William averaged 5.1 combined tackles and interceptions per game showing his strength in
defence. The season after William played 2808 minutes in the Brazilian Serie A, where he
improved his numbers quite drastically, now averaging 6.4 combined tackles per game while also
adding some attacking output, also averaging 1.6 key passes and nearly a dribble per game.
Moving to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for 2.75 million euros, William ended his debut campaign for
the german club having played 1614 league minutes. Making his debut in one of the top 5 leagues,
William sustained his brilliant defensive numbers and quickly showed that he belongs in a big
league, nearly immediately stepping up to the new higher level of opposition he would face as a
right back. The 2018/19 was the season that William established himself as a top defensive right
back, playing 2676 Bundesliga minutes and sustaining his elite defensive numbers for the fourth
season in a row. Williams strengths are clearly in the defensive department where his numbers are
elite, but his attacking contribution is increasing each season averaging 1.3 key passes and nearly a
dibble per game. Not exceptional numbers by any means but overall decent numbers by a guy
with such elite defensive numbers. In the 2019/20 Bundesliga, Wolfsburg enjoyed a great start to
the season before a recent inconsistent run of form has lead them to currently placing ninth only 6
points of fourth. Having only conceded 18 goals so far this season with xG saying they should only
have conceded 17, Wolfsburg currently has the best defensive In the Bundesliga and a big part of
that defensive is William. Currently on course to his best season yet and with a nearly perfect
injury record so far, William could easily become a bargain buy for any top team looking to buy an
elite defensive right back, especially if Wolfsburg misses out on European football this season. A
team like Tottenham should definitely keep their eye on the 24-year-old Brazilian.
Atal:
Youcef Atal is a 23-year-old Algerian right back/winger currently playing for Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.
Atal joined Nice in 2018 from Belgium club KV Kortrijk for a small sum of 800k euros after only
being at the Belgium club for 1 season. Atal predominantly plays as a right-back for Nice but has
also featured a lot as a right-winger where he has shone because of his great turn of pace and his
ability to beat a man. In his first season at Nice Atal played 2261 minutes featuring both as a rightback
and as a winger. In his debut season in one of the top 5 leagues Atal averaged 4.2 combined
tackles and interceptions per game showing that despite his even more impressive attacking
numbers, Atal is also more than decent at the defensive end. Averaging 3.5 successful dribbles per
game whilst only being dispossessed once per game Atal was quickly moved higher up the pitch
ending the season having played over half of his minutes at either right-wing or right midfield. So
3

Silas Funch
far this season Atal has maintained his numbers but has had his season stumped by injury having
had problems with his knee his whole career. Being very solid defensive while stile having his
biggest strengths going forward, in the right system Atal could easily develop into a phenomenal
wingback. If Atal can get hold of his injury problems, he will be a great addition for any team
looking for either an attacking-minded right back/wingback or a tricky winger. Like a lot of young
French players, Atal could quickly become a true bargain for a lot of big clubs in need of fullback
reinforcements fx a club like West Ham.
Caci:
Anthony Caci is a 22-year-old french left-back currently playing for Ligue 1 side RC Strasbourg. Caci
had his breakout campaign last season making 29 apps playing a total of 2301 minutes in Ligue 1
with most of them coming from centreback in Strasburg´s 3 at the back system. Looking at Caci´s
numbers you can only describe his season as decent. The versatile Frenchman did not have a
particularly good season but still an all-round decent season for a 21-year-old in his debut season
in Ligue 1. Because of Kenny Lala´s attacking tendencies, Caci was often exposed to wingers and
strikers meaning Caci was dribbled past a worrying amount of times per game for a centre back.
Now mainly playing left-back in Strasbourg´s 4-1-2-1-2 system in the 2019/20 season, Caci has
taken his game to a new level. Caci can be described as a very safe and composed fullback who
more often than not prefers to play it safe and make the simple instead of taking risks. So
offensively Caci does not add much although his 1.5 key passes per game could be a lot worse.
What Caci does add to a team is defensive solidity making 5.9 combined tackles + interceptions
per game, the most for a fullback in Ligue 1. Caci has a very good turn of pace and rarely seems to
tire meaning his level of performance remains consistent across the entire 90 minutes. Comparable
to a player like Azpilicueta, Caci´s profile would conclude that he is a very safe player and will
produce the same level of performances every game. Because of his low transfer value and the fact
that Ligue 1 is very overlooked when it comes to value for money transfers, Caci could be a very
good addition to any team who could use a defensive fullback and would also make a great
fringe/rotation players because of his versatility.
4